Le Toux back on the attack with Union

PHILADELPHIA — A couple of common themes have emerged from John Hackworth’s early-season organization of the Philadelphia Union. In the 4-3-3 formation the Union manager has adopted, the first-team composition of that attacking triumvirate has most often included Sebastien Le Toux, Conor Casey and Jack McInerney.

Mostly occupying the right wing has been Le Toux, the club’s all-time leading scorer who left last season under acrimonious circumstances and spent a year struggling for form and a place in Vancouver and New York. The culprit, as much as anything, was thought to be those clubs’ insistence on using him as a right winger, a spot from which his attacking creativity was underutilized.

So on his return to the Union, he’s in the same position? Not quite.

“I’m just happy to be back here and I’m going to try to re-find what made me successful here, which was just playing as hard as I can and being happy to be part of the team,” Le Toux said after a workout at the NovaCare Complex Tuesday. “I know that the people know me here and my style of play.”

Advertisement

That style of play made the Frenchman an omnipresent facet of the Union’s first two seasons. He played the full 90 minutes in 62 matches in 2010 and 2011, tallying 25 goals, 20 assists and a berth in the 2010 MLS All-Star Game. His departure – without anything resembling a replacement in place – was the first wheel to come off a forgettable 2012 season.

But the Le Toux-less Union weren’t the only ones harboring regrets for the way 2012 transpired. Le Toux couldn’t build on initial success in Vancouver, which included scoring four minutes into his debut, collecting just four goals in 19 appearances for the Whitecaps. He was often isolated outside in a 4-3-3 formation, unable to roam the field as he had so successfully with the Union.

By mid-July, he was shipped off to New York in exchange for Dane Richards, a swap of talented but ill-fitting players. Le Toux scored once in 14 appearances for the Red Bulls, but with forwards like Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper as front runners in a 4-4-2, Le Toux was regularly shunted into the midfield, his defensive responsibilities sapping his attacking contributions.

“I know I can be more as a forward or in an offensive player, but it was just the same sticking on the right side (with New York),” Le Toux said. “I know I can play there. I know I can be a good player there. But it’s not what I prefer.”

When the Red Bulls’ season collapsed and a house-cleaning appeared inevitable, Le Toux seized an opportunity to head back down the Turnpike and into the waiting arms of the Union.

“It’s just been good to have Seba back,” Hackworth said Tuesday. “We all know what his work ethic is like. We’re trying to integrate him into the system and the way we’re playing, and that’s a challenge, but it’s a challenge with everybody. He’s doing really well. It’ll be interesting to see how that continues.”

The preparations for the season remain in their earliest stages. With opportunities to practice on a full-sized pitch limited by weather, Hackworth has been unable to put the attacking pieces together in game situations. But critical differences have already emerged between Le Toux’s plight a season ago and what he figures to face this season.

First, Hackworth’s desire to produce an attack predicated on short passing requires a certain amount of interchanging between players. While Le Toux will nominally patrol the right side of the pitch, there will be opportunities to flash into the box as a central striker or track into the midfield. You can expect him and McInerney to switch sides with regularity to offer defenders different looks.

Hackworth is unequivocal on the question of where Le Toux fits.

“Sebastien wants to be a forward, and in the way that we’re playing right now in this part of camp, he’s a forward. He’s an out-and-out forward,” he said. “When we play in the 4-3-3 and we’re trying to emphasize our shape and spreading things out, that width is really important. And that’s where Seba’s always had the most success playing out of anyway, so I don’t think it’s too different.”

The second major ingredient is a freedom that was lacking elsewhere a season ago. The Union are intimately aware of what Le Toux brings to the table and have backed that talent, publicly and financially. While they’ve added enough in terms of talent so that they don’t need to completely turn over the keys to the car to him as they once did, Le Toux likely won’t be far from the driver’s seat.

“I’m an offensive player, so usually when you see an offensive player, you are free,” Le Toux said. “Some people just leave themselves on one side because they like it, but it’s not what I like. I like to kind of be free, and when you’re in a different position or spread out, you can start in a wide position but as play goes, you can move. It depends on where the action goes, how I fit with the guys depending on the movement.

“I’m just hoping to be free than just taking one side and not moving because it’s not me. If I’m not moving, it means there’s something wrong.”